From: Matthew 14:13-21

First Miracle of the Loaves and Fish

[13] Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely
place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the
towns. [14] As He went ashore He saw a great throng; and He had compassion
on them, and healed their sick. [15] When it was evening, the disciples came to
Him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds
away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” [16] Jesus said, “They
need not go away; you give them something to eat.” [17] They said to Him, “We
have only five loaves here and two fish.” [18] And He said, “Bring them here to
Me.” [19] Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the
five loaves and the two fish He looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and
gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. [20]
And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the
broken pieces left over. [21] And those who ate were about five thousand men,
besides women and children.

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Commentary:

14-21. This episode must have occurred in the middle of springtime, because the
grass was green (Mark 6:40; John 6:10). In the Near East loaves were usually
made very thin, which meant it was easy to break them by hand and distribute
them to those at table; this was usually done by the head of the household or the
senior person at the meal. Our Lord follows this custom, and the miracle occurs
when Jesus breaks the bread. The disciples then distribute it among the crowd.
Here again we can see Jesus’ desire to have people cooperate with Him.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

Isaiah 55:1-3 ©

Thus says the Lord:

Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;

though you have no money, come!

Buy corn without money, and eat,

and, at no cost, wine and milk.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

your wages on what fails to satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat

and rich food to enjoy.

Pay attention, come to me;

listen, and your soul will live.

With you I will make an everlasting covenant

out of the favours promised to David.

Psalm

Psalm 144:8-9,15-18 ©

You open wide your hand, O Lord; you grant our desires.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

compassionate to all his creatures.

You open wide your hand, O Lord; you grant our desires.

The eyes of all creatures look to you

and you give them their food in due time.

You open wide your hand,

grant the desires of all who live.

You open wide your hand, O Lord; you grant our desires.

The Lord is just in all his ways

and loving in all his deeds.

He is close to all who call him,

who call on him from their hearts.

You open wide your hand, O Lord; you grant our desires.

Second reading

Romans 8:35,37-39 ©

Nothing can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.

For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Lk19:38,2:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessings on the King who comes,

in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest heavens!

Alleluia!

Mt4:4

Alleluia, alleluia!

Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Alleluia!

Gospel

When Jesus received the news of John the Baptist’s death he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick.

When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they answered ‘All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.’ ‘Bring them here to me’ he said. He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps remaining; twelve baskets full. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, to say nothing of women and children.